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[quote=Anonymous]I live very near the new Whole Foods, which is inside the Beltway.  The violent crime in this mainly white enclave (from Busboys up to UMD) is quite low.  Cars may be broken into or lawn items stolen.  I hasn't happened to me but I'm sure it's possible. Maybe it's bad in the areas of the county I've never visited. I feel much safer here than in most parts of DC and there are no people begging for change at the Metro, nor are there mentally ill patients wandering the neighborhood or sitting in public spaces like libraries as is the case in much of the commercial areas of DC. I don't worry that I'll be jumped by kids just hanging out near the Metro since there are none doing that at the College Park station.  I'd say these SFH neighborhoods (nice part of Hyattsville, Univ Park, lower College Park, nice part of Riverdale, College Heights Estates) have property crime that is on par with 16th Street Heights or Shepard Park.  Lower crime than most of The Hill or Gallery Place.  Definitely much lower than Petworth or Brookland.

One big distinction between DC and the nice part of PGC that attracts professionals is that DC's gentrifying neighborhoods are filled with group houses for mentally ill folks or those transitioning back into society after institutions. Here the group houses are occupied by rich white kids studying at UMD.  But both tend to have messy yards and not be good neighbors.

Another big distinction is that very few of the large and gorgeous houses and neighborhoods in this part of PGC were abandoned because of white flight. For the most part, "nice" PGC has higher-end housing stock that has been cared for over the years.  These aren't gorgeous Craftsman, Victorians, Tudors or Colonials that were turned into squatter homes or broken into small apartments.  Many have been owner-occupied this whole time by the people who owned them back in the 1960s, or they were sold to other upper-middle-income people.  In DC's hot neighborhoods you tend to either have ugly housing stock that was built for the working poor (Ivy City/Ft Totten/area near RFK Stadium), or you have grand houses that fell into disrepair (Brookland/Woodridge).  This has a big impact on the character of the neighborhood and how welcoming the long-term residents are toward the newcomers.[/quote]

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